Chapter 73

"Welcome, masters."

As soon as they entered, two waitresses dressed as maids came over.

"Wow, they're really maids..."

Bell Tong whispered as she looked at their light and airy skirts.

"..."

Samson Nan glanced inside.

There were probably five or six maids in the store, but it seemed that Roxie Lin was not among them.

"May I ask what the masters would like?" one of the maids asked.

"Well, we're here to find someone."

"To find someone?"

The two maids glanced at each other.

"Are you looking for Xiaoxi?" the maid asked. Xiaoxi was probably Roxie Lin's name.

"Well...is she here?"

Raina Nan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.

"Please wait a moment."

"Xiangge...I mean, the manager!" the maid called out towards the counter.

After a while, a well-built man walked over.

"Isn't this Young Master Nan?"

The manager, who was called Xiangge, seemed to remember Samson Nan.

He looked around and lowered his voice.

"Please come this way, masters. Let's talk in a quieter place."

He led them to a relatively quiet spot and sat them down.

"Manager," Samson Nan spoke first.

"Is Roxie Lin still working here?"

"..."

The manager didn't seem too surprised by his direct question.

He took a sip of coffee and shook his head.

"She left this."

One of the maids handed him a note.

After glancing at it, he placed it on the table.

"It says, 'Manager, thank you for everything.'"

"She left this quietly that day and hasn't come back since."

"What does this mean..."

It was just a note, with no additional content, not even a resignation letter.

"To be honest, I was worried too. Her phone hasn't been reachable since then, and I wondered if something happened."

"What about us...it seems the same on our side..."

Bell Tong said disappointedly.

"But..."

The manager spoke, as if he had remembered something.

"The day before she left, there seemed to be someone who came to the store looking for her."

"Huh? Who?"

"I don't know. It was a woman, and in terms of age...she didn't seem much older than Xiaoxi. And..."

"And?"

"She was a beauty."

"Cough..."

One of the maids coughed lightly.

"Why did she come to see Roxie Lin?"

"I don't know what they talked about, but I saw them chatting for a long time, so I thought they must be acquaintances..."

Acquaintances?

He looked at Raina Nan beside him.

Raina Nan shook her head.

"Is that so?"

Samson Nan sighed and stood up.

"If she's not here, then we won't bother you."

"No, I haven't been of much help."

The three of them stood up and prepared to leave.

"Young Master Nan."

Just as they were about to leave the store, the manager called out to Samson Nan.

"If you find Xiaoxi, please tell her..."

The manager took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Our small store is always welcoming her back."

"Ah."

Samson Nan nodded and left the coffee shop.

"Manager! Please extinguish your cigarette!"

"Oh, sorry..."

To be honest, it wasn't very polite of Roxie Lin to leave in such a manner...

But it seemed she had found a good boss.

...

"Hey, you two, who are you hiding your faces from..."

After leaving the coffee shop, Raina Nan and Bell Tong remained silent all the way, burying their heads."There are still no clues at all," Bell Tong said, kicking a stone on the side of the road.

Raindrops hit the canopy of the street shops, making a rhythmic sound.

On a rainy day like this, even if you use an umbrella, it's hard to avoid getting your shoulders wet.

"Rain Rain,"

He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Raina Nan.

"Should we continue?"

"..."

She looked up, paused for a moment, then looked to the side.

"Brother Feng, what are you saying? Of course we should keep looking, right, Rain Rain?"

Bell Tong looked at them with some confusion.

"..."

"Rain Rain?"

Raina Nan remained silent and did not answer.

"What's wrong with you two?"

Bell Tong was completely confused by them.

"Can't you tell..."

"Ah?"

She still didn't understand.

"This Roxie Lin..."

He looked ahead and spoke softly.

"Probably doesn't want you to find her."

This time, he didn't beat around the bush.

"What are you saying..."

Bell Tong hesitated after he said that.

Now that she thinks about it, they really know nothing about Roxie Lin.

Is this a failure as friends, or is she doing it on purpose...

"Brother"

She suddenly stopped walking.

"I think... I still want to see Roxie Lin"

"..."

The rain seemed to have lessened a lot. He put away his umbrella and looked at her.

This answer didn't surprise him.

"Are you sure?"

"Mm"

This time, her answer had no hesitation.

Even if Roxie Lin had a huge reason to leave, she wanted to hear it from her own mouth.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be satisfied...

...

Samson Nan fell silent. This question was unnecessary. He knows what this girl is thinking better than anyone else...

He is just worried...

...

"Brother Feng, where are we? We've been walking for a while, haven't we?"

Bell Tong looked around. They had been walking along this old road, and unconsciously, they had already walked quite far.

"Last time, when I came out of the cafe, I think I separated from Roxie Lin around here."

He recalled that afternoon. Originally, he intended to walk Roxie Lin home, but she insisted that her house was nearby and went back alone...

"Let's ask around here."

Raina Nan walked ahead and said.

"Oh, full of energy ~"

Bell Tong laughed and followed.

There are not many houses nearby, and many of them are old houses with green bricks and grey tiles, retaining some traces of the Republic of China era. It should be an old urban area.

"Rain Rain, they sell toffee here!"

Bell Tong spotted a vendor selling toffee with a carrying pole on the side of the street.

This type of amber-colored malt candy that they loved to eat when they were young is now almost impossible to find.

"Really... No, what are we here for? Let's go..."

She almost got lured in by Bell Tong.

"Brother Feng~"

Bell Tong turned around, blinked her eyes, and looked at Samson Nan.

"I actually... didn't bring any money~~"

"..."

Her coquettish voice gave him goosebumps.

"So what?"

"Buy it for me~"

"No money."

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue and then staggered towards Raina Nan.

"Rain Rain~ Look at your brother, he's so stingy, so boring!"

"..."

Raina Nan couldn't do anything about it. He turned his head and looked at Samson Nan.

"Just buy it for her, so annoying..."

"Do you think I'm an ATM..."

He sighed and reluctantly took out his wallet....

"Will Ruoxi really be here..."

Raina Nan paced back and forth, looking around the streets.

"Who knows, let's try our luck."

Although it was like finding a needle in a haystack, this was the only clue, and they had to give it a try no matter what.

He looked around.

Other than residential houses, there seemed to be some workshops selling paper umbrellas, calligraphy supplies, or antique shops nearby.

He didn't know the old city still preserved these things before...

...

"This wall is really magnificent..."

Bell Tong touched the wall on the right side and looked up.

"Indeed..."

Raina Nan also looked up. The three-meter-high wall had dark glazed tiles on the top, and the gaps were covered in moss, giving it a sense of age.

The bamboo trees inside the wall swayed their branches, reaching outside the wall.

Could it be the courtyard of a wealthy family...

...

They walked along the wall.

It seemed that the main gate of the courtyard was ahead.

"We should take our leave now."

"Well, take care, no need to send us off."

A few people walked out of the gate.

"Oh~~ I thought no one could play the seventeen-stringed instrument anymore! How ignorant I am, how ignorant!"

"Although I heard before that Lin Yin Ge had an extraordinary successor, it's really a treat for me to hear it myself!"

The group of people chatted and praised something.

"Indeed, when it comes to this guzheng, Lin Yin Ge is the only one, haha!"

"Hehe, thank you very much. We hope to have the guidance of the teachers from Lin Yin Ge in the future."

A middle-aged man walked out.

Smiling, he bowed and turned around.

"You should also come out and bid farewell to the teachers."

"Okay, father."

...

The sound like a clear spring.

Penetrating the damp air after the rain.

A girl walked out from inside.

With red lipstick, jade hairpins, and a peony-patterned hanfu, she stood there quietly.

...

Raina Nan widened his eyes and couldn't say a word for a long time.

"Ruoxi..."

Her lips trembled slightly as she called her name.

...

The girl seemed to notice them and glanced over for half a second before turning her head away.

"Ruoxi!"

Bell Tong shouted loudly without thinking and rushed toward her.

"Stop!"

The middle-aged man next to Roxie Lin blocked them.

This middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard was probably the father Roxie Lin mentioned earlier.

"Who are you people?"

He looked displeased and asked.

"Dad... Father"

At this moment, Roxie Lin spoke up and called him to a halt.

She looked at the ground and spoke softly.

"You should go in first, Father. I... know what to do."

...

The man turned to look at her and glanced at them with the corner of his eye.

"Very well."

He said, then looked back and walked back inside the gate.

...

"Ruoxi..."

Raina Nan looked at her and, for some reason, choked up.

"Ruoxi! What's going on?! We couldn't reach you by phone, and we were really worried about you!"

Bell Tong stood with her hands on her hips, finally able to say what she had been holding back.

...

Samson Nan stood behind them, leaning against the wall, not saying a word.

...

"I'm sorry."

After a while, she spoke again.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry."

Roxie Lin's voice was weak yet clear, as if it came from deep within her throat.

"Ruoxi, come back with us."

Raina Nan cautiously approached her and made a tentative proposal.

"Xiaoyu..."

Her voice froze them in place. She slowly lifted her head and looked at them.The rouge mixed with tears, smearing her face to the point of indistinctness.

"I may never be able to go back again."

"Ruoxi, what are you saying..."

"Xiaoyu."

She interrupted Raina Nan once again.

"Xiaoling... and also..."

Her gaze wandered, looking behind them.

"Nan Gege."

She took a deep breath, her breathing seemingly calming down.

"Please go back."

"Huh?"

Before they could stop her, the door had already closed.

The three of them were left outside.

......

Lin Yin Ge

He looked up at the characters above the door.

There seemed to be some inconspicuous small characters written in cursive script next to them - the Zither Association.

Is it a place to learn the guzheng? He didn't understand.

Thinking this, he glanced at Raina Nan beside him. She drooped her head, lost in thought.

"Yuyu..."

Bell Tong looked at her with some sympathy.

"Let's go."

He said, pressing his hand on her head.

One should have been mentally prepared for something like this.

Words spoken directly should have already made one give up...

......

Just as they were about to leave.

"You guys."

A voice came from behind.

"Are you here to find Ruoxi?"

They turned around.

The evening breeze rustled the bamboo leaves, making a rustling sound.

A tall woman, with a smile on her face, stood in front of them.